‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Morbius’ postponed to 2021 due to virus

FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2018, file photo, Jason Reitman attends the 2018 Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film Honoring Hugh Jackman at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta, Calif. Sony Pictures on Monday, March 30, 3030, cleared out its summer calendar due to the coronavirus, postponing the releases of Reitman’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the Marvel movie “Morbius” to 2021. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sony Pictures on Monday cleared out its summer calendar due to the coronavirus, postponing the releases of Jason Reitman’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the Marvel movie “Morbius” to 2021.

Hollywood’s summer season — the film industry’s most lucrative time of year — is increasingly shutting down because of the pandemic. Theaters nationwide have closed and major film productions have halted with no clear timeline for resuming.

“Ghostbuster: Afterlife,” set 30 years after “Ghostbusters II,” had been scheduled for July 10, but it will now open March 5 next year. The Jared Leto-starring “Morbius,” slated for July 31, will now be released March 19 next year. “Greyhound,” a World War II drama starring Tom Hanks, is now to-be-determined instead of opening June 12.